finally got a rev fire

[JJsqueeze]

good point FR. I'll temper my excitement a bit and stay focused on the overall goal of good mechanics. I haven't grabbed video in a while so who knows what bad technique she is using to get that spin, but it was really something to watch her make all those girls hits grounder after grounder.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

JJ
Lots of variables relative to spin rate increases.
Length of fingers, grip strength, finger grip on the ball, brush interference/energy transfer/ etc. etc.
With the possible exception of stretching her fingers.... the others will come with time, maturity, and focused practice.

We do a drill called "Dead Stop". Let's use the riseball for example. The pitcher throws from the K position....brings the arm down with high energy....definitely gets brush interference.....attempts to stop the arm/wrist "dead" at time of brush interference.....thus transferring all the energy into the fingers in the form of spin......speed is not the focus.....spin is the focus.
With just about every pitching student we do this with they achieve a significantly higher spin rate. Then we have them perform the same "Dead Stop" action from the full pitching motion. Again, you will see an increase in spin rates. Eventually, you will see these increased spin rates when the pitcher is throwing at game speed. Spin rates can definitely be increased with focused drills......strength work relative to grip strength can certainly speed up the process.

Rick, a good drill that I've used to enhance explosiveness and energy transfer .... which was the focus I've used with the drill (and not so much a focus on increasing spin rate, although I could see that being a result).

 

[Rick Pauly]

FR
Your experience is exactly what I see in 99.99% of girls relative to their dropball spin. The old "Rollover Drop" actions are trained motions that are slow (in speed and spin rate). A simple fastball almost always puts great drop axis spin on the ball and is 2-3 RPS better than a Roll Drop.......just get the spine/posture right and your fastball is a great dropball.
It is really fun to see the look on the pitchers face and her parents face the first time you show them video of the delayed rolling action of their Roll Drop. The light bulb comes on and they are thinking "why the heck am I doing all this crazy rolling junk".

Be careful JJ...If she is throwing a peel, one thing that you may encourage with the extensive focus on the rotation is early "behind the ball" and that could "leak" into her pitching mechanics .... unless she is solid on the pinky leads, IR release we all covet. If you ask me, this is where the roll over drop was born. Maintain IR and create the 12-6 spin by keeping the fingers rolling over the ball a split second longer than the typical release which creates the 1-7 (catchers vantage point) of the fastball. I think the name "Roll Over Drop" or "Turn Over Drop" is misleading by the nature of the name.....and the way I am seeing it typically taught. I giggle to myself every time I see a pitcher learning this pitch. They force the hand to do some sort of cockeyed downward finish....when clearly, the ball is gone. My interpretation of this pitch is the ball is still thrown the same as an IR fastball. but the FINGERS redirect the spin to 12-6 instead of falling off early creating the 11-7. The rest of the mechanics should be pretty consistant with the fastball. I have watched a ton of Cat's video and to be honest...it's really difficult to determine which pitch she's actually throwing....because the variations in her machanics to modify the spin on the ball are incredibly subtle.

My own learning experience came after purchasing my own Rev Fire 8 months ago.... it was abundantly apparent to me that there was an issue with the typical mindset. Her FB was registering 18-19 RPS..and when she threw a roll over drop...it was only 14-15. She had the pronounced downward finish, but she lost revs and MPH. I learned after futile attempts to get her to ROLL OVER harder.....Snap it down. FINALLY I.....yes I, got so frustrated....I just told her to forget about what your hand does after you throw the ball... just use your fingers to spin the ball so the tape on the ball is on the line with the power line ...... bang....18-19 RPS drop ball. She still struggles with it as far as control....so it's a pitch she only uses against better hitters, or a waste pitch when ahead in the count......but she continues to get closer and closer to learing to control it.

Once again.... not an expert here...just sharing some info I learned through trial and error.

 

[FastPitchCat]

JJ
Lots of variables relative to spin rate increases.
Length of fingers, grip strength, finger grip on the ball, brush interference/energy transfer/ etc. etc.
With the possible exception of stretching her fingers.... the others will come with time, maturity, and focused practice.

We do a drill called "Dead Stop". Let's use the riseball for example. The pitcher throws from the K position....brings the arm down with high energy....definitely gets brush interference.....attempts to stop the arm/wrist "dead" at time of brush interference.....thus transferring all the energy into the fingers in the form of spin......speed is not the focus.....spin is the focus.
With just about every pitching student we do this with they achieve a significantly higher spin rate. Then we have them perform the same "Dead Stop" action from the full pitching motion. Again, you will see an increase in spin rates. Eventually, you will see these increased spin rates when the pitcher is throwing at game speed. Spin rates can definitely be increased with focused drills......strength work relative to grip strength can certainly speed up the process.

rick,
will stopping the action abruptly going to hurt the shoulder/arm?

 

[Rick Pauly]

The brush interference is a key here.....it is a stabilizer. Never had a student have a joint problem doing this drill.

rick,
will stopping the action abruptly going to hurt the shoulder/arm?

 

[Rocketech1]

JJ
Lots of variables relative to spin rate increases.
Length of fingers, grip strength, finger grip on the ball, brush interference/energy transfer/ etc. etc.
With the possible exception of stretching her fingers.... the others will come with time, maturity, and focused practice.

We do a drill called "Dead Stop". Let's use the riseball for example. The pitcher throws from the K position....brings the arm down with high energy....definitely gets brush interference.....attempts to stop the arm/wrist "dead" at time of brush interference.....thus transferring all the energy into the fingers in the form of spin......speed is not the focus.....spin is the focus.
With just about every pitching student we do this with they achieve a significantly higher spin rate. Then we have them perform the same "Dead Stop" action from the full pitching motion. Again, you will see an increase in spin rates. Eventually, you will see these increased spin rates when the pitcher is throwing at game speed. Spin rates can definitely be increased with focused drills......strength work relative to grip strength can certainly speed up the process.

Anyone have any video of this "Dead Stop" drill? Do baseball pitchers do this same drill to increase ball spin? Just not able to fully visualize this drill. Thanks.

 

[javasource]

Anyone have any video of this "Dead Stop" drill? Do baseball pitchers do this same drill to increase ball spin? Just not able to fully visualize this drill. Thanks.

This is the general idea... hope it helps:

 

[Ken B]

Thanks to JS, RP and anyone else who has suggested this. I started using it this season with a few kids and it has been very helpful.

 

[Rocketech1]

Stupid question? Doesn't the act of trying to stop the hand right at release cause tension upstream to the whipping motion and thereby decreasing the internal rotation of the lower arm and hand? If not, I'm sure the timing of this drill has to be exact?

I'll try it myself and with DD this weekend.

 

[JJsqueeze]

curse the rev fire....now I have two daughters that make fun of me for my slow spin. They even have the audacity to say that maybe I threw faster and had more spin when I had a full head of hair. Anyone want a couple of extra kids?